Traits of Transformational Leaders

Recently, during an interview cycle, a candidate asked me “What are your leadership beliefs and principles?”. I was surprised by the question. In my years of interviewing no one had asked me that. I am sure I gave her a response that met the need of the moment but to me, it felt incomplete. As I introspected more, there were some realizations and learnings. I wrote them down to be concrete in my self-awareness and potentially inspire others in the organization. For me, the best leaders:

1.     Have a clear vision: You may make forward progress by meandering through but get nowhere close to your potential. A vision that inspires creates a sense of belongingness in employees and fosters loyalty. It nudges those on the outside to join you in your pursuit. A good vision should be.

a.     Clear – Your vision should be crystal clear. You may not know how you will get there (you may never get there) but you should be able to close your eyes and see it very clearly. Until it is clear to you, you will lack conviction. 

b.     Articulated, Communicated, and Understood – A vision that only lives in your head is of no use. A key purpose of the vision is to inspire, align, mobilize, and drive progress. You must be able to clearly communicate your visions to others in the organization. 

c.     Evolving: A good vision is enduring but specific. At times, these two components may be in conflict. A generic vision may have a high chance of surviving the test of time but a low chance of driving meaningful goals and objectives from it. Take Microsoft’s vision as an example: A computer on every desk and in every home.  This vision has served its purpose and now needs to evolve. That said vision is not the same as annual goals and objectives. It should serve an organization for a very long time.

2.     Empower others: When you hire for diversity, you shouldn’t try to drive to conformity to benefit from it. What does absolute empowerment look like and is it something your leaders find helpful? For some, empowerment may create ambiguity and lead to unnecessary anxiety. At the end of the day, leaders need to feel trusted and supported. The method of empowerment of one leader may (and should) need to vary differently from another leader.

3.     Lead with Empathy: If you want to build genuine trust and relationships with people, you must understand what drives them. Be willing to walk in their shoes. When people realize that their opinion matters, their level of engagement skyrockets. Remember though, Leadership is NOT customer service. You must be willing to take hard and unpopular decisions after you have taken in other’s points of view. 

4.     Customer Obsessed: As leaders grow in their careers, demands for their time for internal, administrative, and operating initiatives increases. A 2017 HBR study found at CEOs, on average, spend less than 10% of their time with the customers. I have found that the most impactful leaders carve out their time for clients first and rightsize internal demands accordingly. Any strategy or execution disconnected from the voice of the customer will yield subpar results.

5.     Boldly reject unproductive behaviors: You will invariably come across brilliant people who drive their agenda and cause disruption. Let me tell you from experience: If you accommodate them at the cost of the team, you will most definitely regret it. 

6.     Drive Innovation: Do the weeks, months, and years blend for you? You and your team have a lot to do but it doesn’t make you nervous? Chances are that you are not challenging the status quo. You are not being disruptive enough. Good leaders drive success. Great leaders drive success AND transform the landscape in the process.

Leadership isn’t necessarily about your title or how many people you manage. It’s about how you show up and engage with a situation. While there are many ways to be a transformational leader, I believe that vision, empowering others, centering empathy, remaining client-focused, and fostering a culture of innovation while boldly rejecting negative disruptors are the keys to creating successful outcomes for employees, clients, and the organization. Whether you are a CEO or just starting out in your career, you can create transformational change by having conviction in your beliefs, listening to others, staying curious, and always maintaining a “Day 1” mindset. 

I hope you found a couple of useful nuggets. I invite you to think about what’s most important to you even if you don’t share with anyone. Happy introspecting!!